It's you
by EbonyStardust
Summary: 7x10. After the crash and a shooting, will Spencer and Toby's paths cross once more? After everything that has happened, will fate bring them together again? Set moments after finale ended, story's better than the summary! Updates only come if this gets reviews.
1. Chapter 1

"Spencer. I would never hurt you; I'm your mother."

Blood. There was so much blood. The thick liquid gushed uncontrollably from her chest. It covered her hands, her sweater, no matter how hard Mary pressed the wound. All the eyes in the dark room couldn't stop staring at the blood, regardless of what Mary said.

A scarlet pool was beginning to form beside Spencer, and as she looked vacantly into Mary's eyes, her mother's eyes, the pain began to vanish. The agonising sting that stretched across her shoulder and chest was fading. Her eyes searched for him. Spencer needed to find him. Despite everything that had happened, despite the blood that was trickling down her side, despite the darkness beginning to shroud her vision, he was the one thing she could think of.

Before the cloud of black sucked her under, Spencer managed to murmur the name. The name that comforted her in the chaos.

"To-by." The disjointed word lingered on her tongue for a moment before she was suffocated by the blackness.

"Spence…" "No…" "Spencer, you can't…" "Call 911…" "We're going to loose her…"

The girls scrambled to call an ambulance while Mary attempted to awake her lost daughter from an unforgivable sleep.

Blood. There was so much blood. The thick liquid soaked his shirt and spilled from his forehead. Disorientated, Toby lifted his head from the steering wheel and looked for answers to his countless questions. Ahead of him was a muggy fog arising from the engine of the truck. To his left the window had been smashed and glass was scattered across the dashboard. Behind him was the daunting scene of their belongings spewed across the mud track. But to his right was a heartbreaking image of his fiancé, unconscious, her delicate face plastered with yet more blood.

An ambulance siren sounded and Toby was snapped back to reality. All of a sudden, he felt a horrible pain in his heart. She was who he was meant to be with. Why didn't he pull her back when she left? She was the one.

"Spencer. It's you." He ignored the throb in his head, and the agony in his rib. He thought about her.

* * *

His eyes didn't move from Yvonne's limp body as she was wheeled into a separate ambulance to him. Despite his feelings for Spencer, he couldn't deny the fact that he loved her. She had always supported him and made him feel comfortable in difficult situations. She had stood by him when he made the decision to move from Rosewood, and forgave him when he bailed on her on the night of Hanna's disappearance. The night of Hanna's disappearance. The night she could have died. The night that any one of them could have been killed. This game was serious. A.D was willing to kill. His burning pain in his chest deteriorated as he sat up suddenly. He needed to find the girls and make sure they were safe; something about this night made him queasy, and it wasn't the obvious concussion in his head.

The paramedic pushed him gently back down on the gurney and pulled an oxygen mask over his face, assuming he was still disorientated. The blood was still leaking from his head and he knew that soon he would pass out from blood loss. He was right.

All of a sudden, the soothing voices of the paramedics became slurred and inaudible. His eyelids began to feel incredibly heavy and he drifted into a carefree sleep.

"She's not breathing. Why isn't she breathing?" Aria's voice was shaky and concerned, and her eyes conveyed deep fear. When nobody answered her and continued either talking to the ambulance and police, or crying and attempting to control the bleeding, she began to stroke Spencer's hair.

"You're going to be fine, okay? You're not going anywhere. Don't you dare leave me. I'm not loosing you tonight, do you hear me?" Salt water welled in her eyes and throated to spill down her pale face.

"I'd like to report a shooting. Yes, there is one victim. I'm Alison DiLaurentis. Her name is Spencer Hastings. Jenna Marshall. Yes, i'm sure. Look, my friend is on the phone to the ambulance, so can we answer questions at the hospital? Thank you. Yes, Rosewood General Hospital. Bye." Alison finished her phone call with the police and rushed to Spencer's side. The two of them had always had issues, but she couldn't bear to see her like this. She was her cousin. How had she not realised sooner?

"Please hurry, I don't - I don't know how long she's got left."Tears spilled down Emily's face and neck, her voice stammering. How could this be happening?

Hanna was silent. She sat next to Spencer, holding her hand and not uttering a word. Her eyes were fixated on Spencer, and suddenly everything clicked. Spencer was in love with Caleb, and she felt guilty about it. Hanna realised that is wasn't Spencer's fault, and she secretly blamed her for Caleb leaving. Now, her best friend was lying on the floor, bleeding out, and she probably thought that Hanna blamed her for everything. She never had a chance to tell Spencer that she valued their friendship, and that she never, ever wanted to loose her. But it was too late for all that now. Too late.

 **Don't worry guys, i'm not gonna kill off Spencer. Happy reading! xx**


	2. Chapter 2

"BP's down, we're gonna loose him if we don't clean up that head wound."

The soft murmur of voices was heard in what seemed like the far distance. He so desperately wanted to open his eyes, but the dark water that enclosed him prevented him from doing so. Suddenly a searing pain across his forehead caused him to cry out in pain, the first proper sense of reality he had felt since passing out. The pain drew out for a moment, before a needle was inserted near the wound. Confusion overwhelmed him, and he was sure that he was on the verge of having a panic attack. Heat rose up his face and he felt his limbs begin to shake. A slurred version of the heart monitor started to speed up and firm hands constrained him.

"Mr Cavanaugh? Can you hear me? My name is Dr Orthedra, you've been in an accident." A soothing, female voice calmed him slightly, but the water was still pressing down on his eyelids. His lungs were full of smoke and he had the urge to cough, however, when he did so his ribs sent chilling pains up his chest. Another needle was put into his hand and at last the pain Toby had endured was beginning to wear off.

Moments later, he opened his eyes to the bright room, greeted with the kind eyes of who he assumed was Dr Orthedra. She started to explain things to him, but a wave of nausea rippled through him as he remembered Spencer. Something didn't feel right. The girls were in trouble, he could feel it in his bones.

"They're here!" The relieved words escaped Emily's mouth and immediately awoke everybody from their melancholy trances. Red and blue lights shone through the broken windows of the run down house and everybody breathed a sigh of relief. Soon enough the paramedics rushed through with a gurney and medical equipment. Aria, Mary and Hanna backed away from Spencer's body and let them through, waiting anxiously on the sidelines.

Minutes later Spencer was wheeled away and placed into the ambulance. Aria joined her and the others followed in car. A paramedic performed chest compressions during the journey to the hospital in fear that she was gone already. Tears silently rolled down Aria's cheeks as she stared at her best friend whilst she slowly slipped away forever.

"This can't be it. You can't go like this. Just think about all people you'll leave behind." She spoke more fiercely this time, her sadness moulding into anger and frustration. "Think about me and the girls, your parents, sister." The last one was hesitant. Her last resort was going to have to be used. "Think about Toby."

Toby, Toby, Toby. Spencer heard it. She heard his name. That was what she needed to pull through. It was all she needed to hear.

"Think about Toby."

* * *

"Yvonne. Where is she?" Toby suddenly asked the nurse. In the midst of examining his own injuries, he had almost forgotten about her. She didn't look good when he saw her being loaded into a separate ambulance, with an open wound on her stomach and a gash on her shoulder. Guilt ran through his blood as he realised he had been more concerned about the girls, who weren't in danger, than he had been about his own fiancé.

"Miss Phillips is being prepped surgery, there were complications with a ruptured spleen and a large artery, but she is expected to make a full recovery." The blonde looked sympathetically at Toby and then continued to stitch up his forehead.

"Okay, thanks." He relaxed a little, leaning back into the soft cushions of the bed.

Minutes later the nurse finished. "So you may have a scar, and we'll give you some more morphine before you leave, but you should be fine. Just be careful with those ribs." Closing his medical chart, she turned to face him. "You can wait by reception for your girlfriend, but she may be a couple of hours yet." Glimmering white teeth appeared between her lips as she smiled at Toby, going to leave.

"Oh, Dr Othedra will be back with your discharge papers. You were very lucky Mr Cavanaugh."

"Toby." He softly corrected. Smiling back, he thanked her and he was finally left alone.

Chills rose up his spine as his attention turned once again to Spencer's safety. Why did he feel like this? "What's wrong, Spencer?" He whispered to himself. He thought back to just that morning, to when the girl had come to say her goodbyes before he left. He could still feel the smoothness of her lips on his, her slender hand touching his back. He still felt the emptiness when she pulled away, the sadness when he searched for her once more, but she had already stood away. The way her chocolate eyes looked at him innocently from under her eyelashes. The silent goodbye told by her eyes. The tears that formed in his icy eyes when she walked away. She walked away.

He murmured to himself. "Let her go."

"We need to get her into surgery, now." A doctor swiftly took over from the paramedics once they had reached the hospital. The five people that followed all wore somber faces as they walked behind the gurney.

"They're all booked." A small nurse appeared behind the doctor.

Sighing, he asked if there were any minor surgeries waiting to be performed.

"There's Tom Hills, inflamed appendix. Or Yvonne Phillips, car accident, ruptured spleen but stable for now."

"Tell her doctor that she'll have to wait. Saving a life or a spleen is an easy decision."

By now the girls' attention had been caught. Confusion spread through them like a wildfire. Emily's blood ran cold as she came to a realisation; Toby and Yvonne had been on their way to Maine. If Yvonne was in hospital, where was Toby?

Spencer was wheeled away to surgery, still bleeding. Fresh tears fell down Aria, Hanna and Emily's faces. Alison was quiet, her hand clinging to Emily's. Mary was staring at the floor, emotionless. Nobody knew what to say.

Hanna, who hadn't said a word since Spencer was shot, moved to the waiting area, and the others followed suit. Emily pulled out her phone and shakily dialled Toby's number. Straight to voicemail. She stood up with explanation, making her way to the main desk.

"I was wondering if my friend has been admitted here? His name is Toby Cavanaugh." The woman began to search on the large computer in front of her. Meanwhile, Emily glanced over her shoulder and noticed the police beginning to arrive. "Dammit." She cursed under breathe at the site of Detective Furey, his face layers of confusion, worry and guilt; he said that they were going to be safe.

"He came through about an hour ago. Would you like me to see when he will be discharged?" The nurse spoke, starting her.

"What? Oh yes, thanks." So Toby was in the accident too?

"In about half an hour." Emily walked away without thanking the woman. He was okay. She breathed a sigh of relief and joined the others in the chairs, preparing to answer questions.

Marco approached them quickly. "Is Spencer okay?"

How could they begin to answer that?

 **Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I really like this story so I'm going to try to update as much as possible. Happy reading! xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**I decided to include Marco in this story, but Spoby is still the main focus! Happy reading xx**

Toby sat on the side of his hospital bed staring at one of the charts on the wall. There was one on smoking, cancer, broken bones, tumours. An image flashed in his mind briefly, of how Spencer had attempted to explain to him how tumours appear from her biology class. He smiled slightly at this memory, but then brushed it aside. She was fine. He had Yvonne, she had Marco. They weren't together anymore.

He looked up as Dr Orthedra returned and handed his discharge papers.

"Come back if you feel dizzy, nauseous or anything like that, but we did do a CT when you were still unconscious and there was no damage. However, your fiancé's surgery has been postponed until later due to a gunshot victim needing urgent attention. You are free to remain in this room for a while, the ER isn't busy." The lady gave him a pen to sign, but Toby's mind was elsewhere. A gunshot victim? It could be…

No. It couldn't be. He took the pen and thanked the doctor, opting to stay in here until Yvonne came out. But surely it wouldn't hurt to check?

He caught her just before she left. "Doctor? Do you know who the gunshot victim is?" She thought for a moment, enhancing Toby's anticipation.

"I believe her…" She was cut off when another doctor ran in.

"Dr Orthedra, the victim is crashing. We need your help." The younger man spoke breathlessly before running out again.

She turned to look at Toby sympathetically. "Sorry, I've really got to go." With that, she left. She left Toby staring at the door, trying desperately to pull his attention away from the thought of Spencer lying, bleeding out on an operating table.

"She's fine." He said though gritted teeth. He repeated over and over, hoping that if he said it enough then he would actually believe it.

"Have you heard anything from the doctors?" Marco enquired. For the past few minutes he hadn't stopped asking about Spencer. Hanna was sick of it.

"I'm gonna call Caleb." Something she had been hesitant about doing. If she told him, would he go back to Spencer? Walking outside the main entrance, she pulled out her phone. She took a deep breathe and waited for his loving voice to be heard on the other side of the line.

Meanwhile, Emily was having her own problems. Whilst Alison and Aria had sucked it up and answered questions, she couldn't stop thinking about whether she should find Toby or not and tell her about Spencer. She didn't want him to be worried about her when Yvonne was hurt. She tucked her thick ebony hair behind her ear and let the tears flow once more. Toby would be heartbroken if she were to…

No. She won't. She can't. It's not possible. Emily absent-mindedly reached for Alison's hand. This didn't feel real.

"Caleb?" Someone had picked up the phone.

"Hanna? Hey, what's wrong?" Dammit, she thought. His voice sounded so happy. Oh, how that was about to change.

"So much. There's so, so much wrong, Caleb." Her voice began to waver and her bottom lip started to quiver.

"What happened? Where are you?" He was immediately concerned.

"It's Spencer." She burst into tears, breaking the emotionless mask she had been wearing.

"No, no, no. Don't tell me… she can't." Tears spoke clearly in his voice.

Hanna took deep breaths. "She was shot. I'm at the hospital now."

"I'm coming. Everything's going to be okay." He hung up.

"How can you say that when you don't believe it yourself?" She questioned the dead line. Nothing about this was okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everybody, I know I haven't updated in a while but I just went back to school and I have so much homework! I posted the first half of this chapter the other day with the previous chapter, but not many people realised so I decided to post it with this chapter instead. Enjoy! xx**

Twenty minutes later, Caleb arrived at the hospital, his eyes red and puffy. He shared a small embrace with Hanna, but she was quickly forgotten when the seriousness of the situation had set in. The waiting room had a somber atmosphere to it, the weak conversation fading to a murmur from someone every few minutes. The minutes turned into an hour, and they still hadn't heard anything.

Aria's hands started to shake as doctors heard other families in the waiting room, but not them. The past twenty-four hours had been traumatic, for her especially. She hadn't spoken to Ezra since he said he was about to leave for the airport the morning before Aria had prepared dinner for the two of them. There was sixteen missed calls and seven messages displayed on the screen of her phone, and she hadn't looked at a single one. She couldn't bear to think of the image she had seen on TV, him kissing the girl he thought he had lost. Although she was glad Nicole was alive, there was a small, selfish part of her that wished she hadn't been found. Everything was just so complicated now, and terror seeped through her blood at the thought of Ezra choosing Nicole over her. Sure, she was mad at him for letting her find out that way, but she loved him. She loved him more than anything in the world, and she didn't know what she would do if he were to just… leave.

"Aria? Are you okay?" Alison nudged her small friend out of her daze, noticing her shaking hands. Aria hadn't told anyone about the previous night, so as far as they knew, Ezra had come home and they had enjoyed a romantic dinner together. Oblivious to the chaos echoing in Aria's mind, Alison continued to look at the brunette, trying to read her expression.

"Whatever you're worried about, it isn't Spencer, is it?" She may be in the dark, but she was smart. Aria looked confused and nervous, not upset and scared like the rest of them.

Sighing, she debated whether to tell Alison the truth or not. If she told the truth, she risked being pitied on when they should be thinking about Spencer, but if she lied Alison would be able to tell and would continue to pry until Spencer came out of surgery.

"Nicole is alive." The three words were barely louder than a whisper, but they told something so big that they seemed more like a yell. Aria stared at the floor, not daring to look at Alison's reaction. She acted distracted with a piece of loose thread on her jeans whilst the blonde looked at Aria, eyes wide in shock. Tears fell slowly down her pale skin, her hazel eyes refusing to move focus from the floor.

"Aria…" Alison's voice was barely audible, her hand reaching sympathetically to Aria's shoulder, but the tearful girl flinched away.

"I'm fine. Let's just focus on Spencer." She wiped away her tears and sat up straight.

Despite her not wanting to be comforted right now, Alison leaned into Aria and they stayed like that, not speaking, just waiting. No one said a word, not Marco, Caleb, not even Mary, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, staring at her hands, which were still soaked in her own daughters blood.

She wasn't safe. He didn't know where she was. She could be in so much danger. He couldn't do anything about it, and he couldn't bear it. Toby couldn't sit still. He had read every single poster, sat in every position, stared at every place. Giving up, Toby decided to wait in the waiting room. Maybe he would meet someone and start a conversation; anything would be better than staying in that room. Of course, he would find a phone and order a taxi back home, or call Spencer, just to see if she was okay. Which she was. Nothing could have happened to her.

Sauntering into the large reception, Toby made his way to the main desk, asking about Yvonne.

Then he saw it. He saw the flicker of blonde hair out of the corner of his eye. It was all he needed to realise he was right. He was right about everything. They were in danger, and one of them had ended up in the hospital. His pulse race and his eyes watered as he walked tentatively around to where the Hanna's hair had been.

The next few moments felt like an eternity.

He saw Emily rush up to him. He felt the ache in his ribs when she crashed into him with a hug. He smelt the blood on her hands as she looked him up and down. He heard the countless questions she asked him. Soon enough everybody looked up. He saw their expressions turn from mournful to sorry in the blink of an eye. He heard his own voice mumble answers to Emily's questions. He searched for her. He kept waiting to hear her melodic voice behind him, or see her chocolate eyes between the sorrow faces. He kept expecting to feel her hand on his shoulder, or smell her familiar perfume amongst the blood.

But she wasn't there. She was no where to be seen. He saw all of her friends, her ex, the man who had a thing for her, even Mary Drake. But she wasn't here.

He had known from the moment he crashed that truck, he had felt it in his bones. He remembered their final kiss once more, her kiss to say goodbye. That kiss had been her last goodbye to him, and now she was gone.

He moved his hand to touch his lips, to feel where she had touched him. It was only then that he felt the wetness of his cheeks, and he realised silent tears had been rolling down his face. She was gone. She was gone, and there was nothing he could do about it.

* * *

He felt like he couldn't breathe. His body was numb. He couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face; he couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. The dull ache echoed around his heart, beating weakly, sadly. He was broken. If only he had pulled her back, told her how he felt, kissed her, then maybe things would be so much different. Yvonne had slipped from his mind, but he didn't care. If Spencer were to survive this, then he would never let her out of his sight.

"It's going to be okay." Emily whispered in his ear softly. She was leaning into him on her chair, holding his hand. Of course, those words didn't seem true to her, but what else could she possibly say.

If he didn't say it now, then it would have no meaning. He needed to say it.

"I love her." It was the first time he had said it out loud, but it felt right. Emily squeezed his hand tighter, whilst the few other people who had heard him looked up. Caleb had a strange look in his eye. Toby couldn't figure out if it was guilt or sympathy, maybe a bit of both.

"I might go home, get cleaned up." Aria murmured to Alison, conscious of the blood covering her hands. She stood up to leave, but Alison grabbed her arm.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She asked cautiously.

Aria sighed. "I think it's best if I go alone." She gave her a small smile and left, preparing herself before opening the messages left by her fiancé.

Spencer could hear voices. They were faint, but they were there. Until that moment she had been lost in the dark water, unable to hear or think. Was this what it's like to die? She thought about that question, whether she was ready to go. Suddenly, his name drifted into her mind like a ray of sunlight on a wet and windy day. She thought of their last kiss, how she wanted so badly to turn around when she was walking away, run back and kiss him more. She thirsted for the feel of his lips on hers, for just one last kiss. She loved him, even if the odds were against them.

But now she was somewhat aware of the situation she was in, nothing felt right. She knew she loved him, but did he still love her? He had a fiancé, a home, a new family. How could she ruin that for him? There was no way she was about to tear apart an engagement like a piece of paper. Not if that paper was bonded together with such a strong force. Not if that paper had writing on it that couldn't afford to be lost. Not if that paper didn't want to be torn apart.

Maybe she would if that piece of paper was damaged, had a hole or a rip. Maybe she would if that piece of paper had words scribbled out or had mistakes in every sentence. Maybe she would if a drop of coffee had fallen onto that piece of paper, a sign of weakness amidst that strong force, a fault in the bond. What if she was that sign of weakness, that fault? What if she was his coffee on paper? What if…

The pain. It hit her like a tsunami, crashing into her, ripping her open. It burned through her skin from the inside out, all her thoughts stolen from her mind in an instant. She desperately tried to think of him again, but it didn't work. The fire shot through her heart and ran down her veins, sending searing pains through her chest and shoulder. She tried and failed to move her hands and grasp at the area where the blaze entered her body, the water threateningly pressing on her eyelids once more.

No. She couldn't go under again. She needed him. She tried to stay afloat, but she was sinking fast. No. She couldn't go.

Spencer murmured to herself in her mind the only word she could think of. "Please."

She was dragged under.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this chapter is so short, expect more soon! I have so much homework but I'll try to update more. xx**

"Aria, I know you're busy, but I need to explain."

"I get that you're angry, but please, talk to me."

"I'm getting on the flight now. Please call me back."

"I'm getting a taxi home. Tell me you're okay, I'm starting to get worried."

"Aria, where are you? Call me I'm scared."

"Why are the police here? You need to call me now."

"Please. Aria I'm so sorry. Just… please tell me you're okay."

The messages got worse as they went on, Ezra's voice becoming more and more concerned. By the end of listening to them, Aria was sobbing. How could she do that to him? How could she leave him terrified? She ran to her car that the others drove there in.

The whole drive home Aria had tears streaming down her face, reality finally setting in. This was all too much for her, and bit by bit she was falling apart. Out of all of them, she probably had the most complicated time through all the A drama. It was obvious that Spencer had it the worst, but Aria struggled immensely during the time they were tortured. She had been taunted by A about her parents and her love life with Ezra, Charlotte had chopped of her hair in the dollhouse and lost broke her in two. Almost. This night was the last straw. After all those years of torment, she felt like she was finally at her breaking point.

Not caring about who was watching, Aria sprinted into the coffee shop, pushed past the police officers waiting in the seating area and ran upstairs. Then she stopped. She paused on the last step. The world was spinning around her, the paintings on the walls blurring into a messy blob of colour.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Reaching for the doorbell, she closed her eyes and wiped away the last tears. Everything was about to change.

A doctor finally came to them after an hour of waiting.

"We have tried our best to prevent the heart being damaged and we will know more when she wakes up. That will be within the next 12 hours." The doctor sighed. "There is a chance that Miss Hastings' has suffered so much trauma that her body has shut down. She may wake up very disorientated and confused. We know that you were hoping for good news, but we cannot guarantee anything."

Nobody spoke. The silence was deafening.

"C-can we see her?" Emily broke the silence with the much anticipated question. She glanced at Toby, but he was unresponsive.

He felt so cold. His body was icy with sorrow, his face numb with fear. He longed to simple see her, to feel her presence. The image wouldn't leave his mind of her peeking at him under her lashes just hours earlier, the same way she did when they first kissed so many years ago. His heart was beating slowly, pressing against his aching ribs. The burnt holes in his sweater were exposing his freezing skin, black and blue from the accident. Black and blue, just like his battered heart.

"Toby." Emily's voice echoed through his mind and shattered the image of Spencer. He looked up at last. "Do you want to see her? Only three people are allowed to go."

All he could do was nod. He was still in shock, even after an hour. So he stood, preparing himself for one of the most emotional moments of his life.

 **So I decided to include some Ezria because why not? Enjoy xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for another short chapter, I just** **wanted** **to split this big chapter into two because i probably won't be able to write this week. The next part will come sometime during the week. Enjoy! xx**

The walk through the bleak corridors felt like a lifetime, the steps they took felt like a marathon, his breaths heavy and laboured. Despite Hanna and Emily walking quietly beside him, Toby had never felt so alone. She might not be completely okay, and just the thought of that sent shivers down his spine. It all seemed to make sense now; why her goodbye had been so emotional, why he felt so sure that something bad was happening. Spencer knew that she was going to be in danger, so she said goodbye with such finality that she kissed him. How could he choose Yvonne? After tonight, his feelings seemed so clear for Spencer that he forgot how it felt to love anyone else.

And yet he was walking towards her room, full of anxiety and nerves. They passed room after room in silence, and Toby tried to think of an explanation as to why he was here. How could he explain to her his feelings, if he wasn't entirely sure about them himself?

"What if she doesn't want me in there?" Toby spoke timidly, the question for himself more than for the others.

"She will, I promise. After everything, I think she needs people there for her." Hanna's voiced the answer he wanted to here, and he relaxed slightly.

"We…um…we didn't tell you about Mary Drake." Emily's eyes stared forward, not wanting to look Toby in the eye. He looked at her, still walking, waiting for her to continue. "I-I don't know if Spencer is going to remember when she wakes up, but…um…" This was the first time they had spoken about the revelation earlier, the impact finally hitting them.

Hanna spoke for her. "Mary is Spencer's mother." The words shattered his heart, feeling devastated for her. Her whole life was a lie; Toby was speechless. All he could do was groan in disappointment. This made everything so much worse.

The silence proceeded, and eventually they reached her all paused outside, not daring to look through the door-window. This was going to be rough.

Anticipation rippled through her body as she stood in front of the door, hand on the handle. She wanted so badly to just open it, to run to him and hug him, but there was a small part in the back of her mind that told her not to. That part of her mind told her to leave, to return to the hospital and forget about him. But she couldn't. She couldn't just leave with them both needing someone to comfort them. Salt water rolled down her cheeks once more, and she just did it. She pushed open the door and stepped in, her hazel eyes wide with fear and sorrow.

It was awfully ironic, the situation that followed. They stood staring at each other, both faces wet with tears, both pairs of hands shaking. They both wanted to reach out to the other, but both wanted to run and not look back. They had both been so worried about each other, that they hadn't thought about themselves. Aria was somewhat unaware of how much blood covered her, her hands caked in red, her jeans stained scarlet. it was when Ezra noticed the blood that the stand-off ended.

He took a small step towards her. "Your hands. What…what happened? The police said that-that there was a shooting?" His words fell out in a jumbled mess, suddenly overcome with guilt. He took another step, nearly closing the gap between them.

Aria's face was creased with anguish, biting her lip to stop herself from breaking down in tears. She took a deep breath and tried to say what happened. "I-I don't know what to do." She started to sob. The emotions flowed out of her after being bottled up for so long.

He couldn't take it. He rushed over and embraced her, whispering comforting words into her hair.

"It's okay. It's all going to be okay." She weeped into his sweater, her tears soaking the fabric. They forgot about everything for just a moment, and stayed like that. The feeling of each other reassured the both of them, feeling the warmth of each other relaxed them. They could deal with their issues later, for now they just needed to be together.


	7. Chapter 7

Aria sat up abruptly. After ten minutes of resting on Ezra on their leather sofa, a thought had come to her.

"Nicole. Where is she?" They had barely spoken since they had broken the tension, and she had almost forgotten why he had been away.

Ezra shifted himself to face her, breathing deeply. "She was escorted by a few cops to see her parents in Philly." He paused, hesitant to continue speaking of the sensitive subject. When Aria had broken down earlier, he had tried so hard to push all his emotions down, but now he wanted to open his heart. It was sort of funny; he had tried so hard to write all his feelings out in his book, afraid that if he left it too long that he would forget about her. However, in that moment he felt hardly any love towards Nicole, just a dull desire for her.

"When they told me she was alive… I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what to do, so I just went to see her. Nobody told me it was being filmed or anything, it was all a blur. But I promise, I swear by my heart that nothing has changed between us. I love you, Aria. I love you so much." Aria was taken back by this sudden, short monologue, and her emotions had suddenly clumped in her throat. But he didn't stop.

"I chose you. I chose you because I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to get married to you, have children with you, grow old with you. None of that has changed in the past few days." He stammered and stuttered the whole time he spoke, overcome with nerves. "I've forgiven myself. Can you forgive me?"

Aria contemplated leaving, just running away, not wanting to answer at such a stressful. Then, certainty washed over her.

"Yes." The words melted from her mouth like butter, bringing warmth to her body. She leaned forward and placed a kiss softly on his lips, hands tangled in his hair.

Ezra pulled back, looking at her questioningly. "You never told me what happened, the blood, the shooting." He stated simply.

Aria looked down, sighing. "We were told by AD to go to this old, run down school for the blind. When we got there, Jenna had a gun." Surprisingly, no more tears came. "She shot Spencer." The words still didn't seem real. The sorrow had left her, all that was remaining was pure shock.

* * *

His heart burned. It burned with sadness, with anger, with guilt. The fire in his heart was ice-cold, his blood frozen with grief. Fury tore through his body like a blazing wave of regret and sorrow. Seeing such pain in someone he loved so much ripped him apart inside.

The word angelic came to mind when he saw her. Her hair was fanned out around her, her skin pale and smooth. But however angelic she looked, there was something about her that terrified Toby; she looked dead. Her cheeks had been drained of all colour, her hands scarily thin. It was when he saw her shoulder thick with gauze and in a sling that he freaked out. Until then he wasn't entirely sure that any of it was real. Until then he wanted to believe it wasn't real. But it was. And he had to live with that.

Emily and Hanna had moved over to her, grabbing her hand and talking to her. He was frozen. He couldn't move from his position in the doorway. Silent tears rolled down his cut face. He ran his hand briefly through his hair, before dropping by his side once more. His breath hitched in his throat.

Moments passed and Toby remained silent, in complete shock and disbelief. All of a sudden, a small murmur came from Spencer's mouth underneath the oxygen mask, an inaudible moan. This was what caused Toby to walk over to her, a reassurance that she was actually alive. As he started to speak, he wondered if she could here any of what he was saying.

"I'm here Spence. I'm here if you know it or not. I'm here because I care about you, because I love you. I'm here, okay?" Hanna had released her hand, standing up from the chair, motioning for Toby to sit down. He took her hand and rubbed hit soothingly, praying that she knew it was him. The tears continued to fall.

They sat for a few minutes before Emily decided to call Aria to let her know she was allowed visitors. A doctor eventually came into the room to check her vitals. He handled her with such care you'd have thought she was made of glass. They were left alone once more.

Toby murmured quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "I'm here."


	8. Chapter 8

Yay a new chapter finally! This is short sorry xx

"I don't understand. You said that Mary wasn't there when you got there, but she just turned up when Spencer got hurt? And if Jenna just disappeared, then she's still out there?" Ezra was slowly repeating what Aria had just told him, staring blankly into space as he did so. "Maybe Mary was there since the beginning." Aria looked at him with large, confused eyes , and he jumped to explain himself. "No, not like she was behind it, but what if AD told her that you would all be there, knowing that Spencer was gonna get hurt, so that then her big secret would have to be revealed. Maybe AD just wanted to get Mary in trouble?" Aria's forehead creased in anguish, her min swimming with endless thoughts of the chaotic night.

"So you're saying that AD had the intention to shoot Spencer, and that they wanted Mary to be there and suffer." It made sense. Whoever AD is they aren't the same person as Charlotte's killer, because Mary was on their side after her death. "So CeCe's killer and AD must be two different people, after Mary betrayed them." She stood up abruptly, starting to pace the short length of the living area. "It must have been someone who had something on Charlotte, right? Her killer, I mean. And AD must have some sort of history with Mary, whether she knows it or not, and probably had a connection with Spencer." Ezra stood as well, making his way over to his fiancé, taking her hands in his.

"Let's think about this in the morning. You need to rest after tonight." She looked at him with a panicked expression, clearly too afraid if something were to change with Spencer. Seeing her uncertainty, he ran his hand through his dark, unkept curls and then pulled out his phone. "I'll tell Emily to call me if anything changes, and I'll set an alarm so we can go to the hospital early and you can see her, okay?"

She nodded slowly, still reluctant to the idea of being oblivious to what was happening with her friend.

Meanwhile, Alison sat in the waiting room with her Aunt. The air had been filled with a chilling silence for a while now, neither daring to utter the first word. The blonde fiddled anxiously with the ends of her hair, absent-mindedly noting that she needed a haircut. She sat hunched over slightly, concealing the still invisible bump under her clothes. It wouldn't be obvious for weeks, yet she still swore she could see something. It had crossed her mind that, had tonight gone well, then she was going to tell the girls about the newest issue in her life, but clearly that was off the cards for now. All that filled her brain was that not only did her and Spencer share a brother, Jason, but they shared a sister too, Charlotte, and they were also cousins. Of course, she needed and wanted answers from the deadly silent Mary Drake, and, of course, she was completely terrified to ask. Mainly because she was scared to know what had happened and how her best friend's life had been a lie, but also because she wasn't prepared to break out of the bubble that she was in right now. No one knew about her pregnancy, she had just reconnected with the girl that she felt strong emotions for, and people cared more about Spencer's health than her life-long family issues.

Once again she glanced over at her Aunt, who, to be quite frank, looked a mess. Her dark brown locks were slightly matted and messy, her thick eyeliner smudged and ruined. She had discarded the blood-soaked gloves that she had been wearing and her pale hands were shaking ever so slightly. In many ways Alison did feel awful for her, revealing her secret and watching her long lost daughter suffer immensely, but she also felt a sort of resent towards her. Mary had lied to her about nearly everything, casting a shadow on all of the girls' lives since she returned to Rosewood. Even though it wasn't, everything seemed to fall apart when the sinister woman had shown up. There was much more to her story, and soon enough they would all hear it.


	9. Chapter 9

**At last a Spoby chapter! I want to get another chapter up before April 19th, and then after that I'm honestly not sure if I will carry on with this story. Please review if you read. Enjoy x**

She felt like she was underwater. The voices she heard were muffled and inaudible, and an unsettling pressure surrounded her, as if it were holding her down. She felt numb across her chest; the fiery pain that she had previously felt had been tamed and muted, but it was still uncomfortable. The memories slowly drifted back to her, unnerving her calm and settled mind. The old building, the decapitated classmate, the gun staring at her all flooded into her brain like an overflowing river, demolishing the peacefulness that was there. She remembered the blood, the streaks that stained the floorboards and the puddle beneath her. She recalled the lullaby that was sung to her as she was cradled by the mysterious Mary Drake. She even remembered the final words spoken to her before she drifted into the darkness, the words that still echoed in her mind at that moment.

"I'm your mother."

She absent-mindedly clenched her fists. It stung, it ached, it hurt. It hurt that her life was a lie, and that no one could go back and change it. It was how it was. It was how it had always been. But she was simply oblivious to it. It hurt.

Toby sat staring at her. He didn't dare touch her hand, as she seemed too fragile. He was waiting for a sign, for anything to tell him that she was waking up. A thought crept through his mind, slowly pouching it's way to the front. Despite the doctors telling them that she would wakeup within 12 hours, he couldn't help but think of something he had heard once on one of those medical dramas. Sometimes patients just don't wake up. Nobody knows why, but for some reason they just slip away into an unbreakable sleep. It had crossed his mind many times of the past two and a half hours that he had spent in the hospital room that she could be claimed by that sleep, and that he would never have a chance to listen to her voice again. However, when he raised his speculation to Hanna and Emily, they refused to accept that it could even be a possibility. So he continued to sit in silence, praying that she would just live.

Yvonne had only gone into surgery about an hour ago, so it would be a while until he could see her. Beforehand, she had been in pre-op and had been taken to many scans and tests, so he couldn't see her. Guilt had poured over his heart like burning gasoline, feeling awful for not caring about his fiancé as much as he did for the girl in front of him. He still hadn't even thought about what he was going to do when they both woke up, all he knew was that Spencer's injuries were far more extensive than Yvonne's, so she was his priority right now.

His priority that just moved.

Out of the corner of his blind daze he saw her delicate fingers curling up into a ball, her knuckles turning paler than her skin, if that was even possible. Of course, he jumped up immediately, startling the unknowing Hanna and Emily.

"Her hand. Look at her hand." He spoke slowly, as if making too big a deal of it would reverse the small action.

"Spencer? Spence can you hear me?" Emily asked timidly, edging towards her best friend. Toby reached for Spencer's other hand, then shied away at contact, suddenly rethinking.

"She's going to be confused when she wakes up, maybe it's best if I'm not in here looking like this." He motioned vaguely to the gash on his forehead and his dirty, torn, blood-stained clothes. He went to leave when he didn't get a response from the two girls, who were staring intently at Spencer.

"Stay." Hanna's voice was quiet. Toby was pretty sure it was the first word she had said since they saw Spencer. "She'll want you here. After everything you two have been through, and even if you aren't together, she'll want you here." He edged his way back into the room, confidence building inside of him. He wasn't running this time.

The heart monitor suddenly sped up, beeping repeatedly over and over. The spikes on the screen became sporadic very quickly, and all three of them switched their views to the monitor immediately. Spencer began to breathe shallowly and quickly, the oxygen mask becoming clouded. Her forehead creased, and she was clearly in pain. Toby's heart broke just a little bit more at the sight of her in such pain, and barely acknowledged when Emily yelled that she was getting a doctor. Spencer reached her hand out blindly, and without thinking Toby grabbed it. She relaxed at the touch as she recognised the carpenter's rough hands and, moments before Hanna was about to go and see if emily had found a doctor, Spencer did something that made her frozen to the spot.

Her eyes snapped open.


	10. Chapter 10 (old, skip to 12)

**I know** **you're going to get mad because this chapter is so short and I'm sorry, but I really wasn't feeling very inspired after the episode on Tuesday. I wish they had spent more time on the aftermath of the shooting and everything, let me know if you feel the same. If you could give me some reviews to inspire me, that would be great.**

It took a while for her eyes to focus against the bright lights of the room, and even then her vision was slightly blurred. A sharp ringing echoed in her ears, and a wave of dizziness washed over her, but other than that she felt normal. She was faced upwards on a diagonal, so for just a moment all she was looking at was the fine line where the ceiling met the wall. The ringing faded slightly, and slurred voices drifted into her ears. She looked down to her right, seeing Hanna's concerned face, her lips moving but no audible words coming out. She then felt a squeeze on her left hand, and realised that someone was holding it.

The world moved in slow motion as she shifted her glance from Hanna to the man standing at the opposite side of the bed. The man who was the last person she expected to see here. The man who's clothes were torn and bloodied, who had numerous cuts and bruises across his beautiful face. Toby.

Spencer lay there staring at him, at his muted lips, his tousled bronze hair, his caring, adoring, sweet eyes. She stared at him, and he stared back. And in that moment, nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered until she spoke. "Toby?"

Seconds after she spoke his name and it melted his heart, seconds after her raspy voice made Hanna fill with hope, seconds after everything actually seemed okay for the three people in that room, it all went downhill.

She was seizing. One moment she was saying his name, looking into his eyes, the next she was shaking uncontrollably, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. She was seizing.


	11. READ - IM BACK

I'm back! I know there won't be many of you reading this but I hope some of my followers and new people get to see it. I literally came back across this story tonight after being MIA on the fan fiction front for about 6 months. I'm not gonna bullsh*t you all with excuses but let's just say I was NOT very happy with the way PLL ended and I just wasn't inspired to write. I've also gone through some family things these past months that have changed me for the better. I'm going to a counsellor and she says that writing is a really good way of expressing myself so I'm going to start it again! Don't worry, my stories aren't going to be full of mushy emotional personal stuff, and I'm not guaranteeing anything at the moment, but if you do read this PLEASE review and I'll try to respond, my past reviews have been really amazing and I want to thank you guys for that. So if you see this, a little motivation would be nice! Hopefully I'll post soon xx


	12. Chapter 10

**So this is a rewrite / continued write of the previous chapter. I scrapped the whole last bit because it wasn't going to work with how I want this story to go. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, it might be a bit different seeing as I haven't written in a while, but let me know. xx**

It took a while for her eyes to focus against the bright lights of the room, and even then her vision was slightly blurred. A sharp ringing echoed in her ears, and a wave of dizziness washed over her, but, other than that, she felt normal. She was faced upwards on a slight diagonal, so for a moment all she was looking at was the fine line where the ceiling met the wall. The ringing faded slightly, and slurred voices drifted into her ears, filling her head with a noise she wasn't quite sure she was prepared for. Looking down to her right, she saw Hanna's familiar but concerned face, her lips moving but no audible words coming out. She felt a warm squeeze on her right hand, and that was when she saw him.

The world moved in slow motion as she shifted her glance from Hanna to the man standing at the opposite side of the bed. The man who was the last person she expected to be here. The man who's clothes were torn and bloodied, and who had numerous cuts and bruises across his beautiful face.

Toby.

Spencer lay there staring at him, at his muted lips, his tousled bronze hair, his adoring eyes. She stared at him and nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered until she spoke. "Toby?"

His face came into focus properly, and it was like she was waking up from a dull dream. It was like she was drowning and he saved her, he was like coming up for fresh air. It was like she was blind and he made her see, all by the image of his battered face. Seconds after she spoke his name and melted his heart, seconds after her voice filled Hanna with relief, seconds after everything seemed okay for the three of them, it all just went away.

Pain tore through her chest like a wild-fire, every single inch of muscle and skin burning. It was such real, pure pain that Spencer thought she could feel the red-hot flames licking up her body.

Eyes squeezed shut in agony, she was unaware of the chaos going on around her in the small room. No noise came from her other than strained breaths; she was in such excruciating pain that she couldn't make a sound, not even a scream. Her fragile hand grasped at the crisp white sheets, knuckles bone-white, fingers trembling. The oxygen mask on her face fogged up, before it slipped off all together, making her breathing shallow and fast. She writhed and stretched and thrashed on the small bed, trying and failing to stop the blazing heat burning her open from the inside out, like some kind of fiery devil slashing and shredding its way through her muscle and bone. She moved so sharply and so desperately on the bed that she managed to rip out the IV in her right arm, allowing a sudden stream of blood to flow freely from her porcelain skin. She couldn't think of anything, couldn't feel anything other than the pain, and it was killing her.

Throughout all of this, Toby couldn't breathe.

At first his feet were glued to the ground, his body frozen, suddenly overcome with fear and panic. What brought him back to reality was when she tore her hand out of his grip, leaving his bruised hand feeling cold and empty. He jumped into action, grabbing her arm to try and brace her before she did anymore harm to her already damaged body. Moments later he realised this was no use, and took to following Hanna's suit in yelling for a doctor.

"Where the hell is Emily with that doctor?" He yelled at Hanna, who was standing by the doorway with her hands behind her head in disbelief, or maybe it was defeat, Toby honestly didn't care.

"I-I-I don't -" Hanna stuttered, testing Toby's patience.

"For god's sake, let me find her." He half yelled, half muttered, before sprinting out of the room and down the hallway, leaving Hanna alone with her unresponsive best friend.

"Dammit Spence, don't die."


End file.
